Tell me about tahini

15 years ago

I made my first hummus today from the Cooks Illustrated recipe. It really was creamy and delicious, much better than store-bought. I was trying to prepare a healthy lunch for my husband and I, served with warmed whole-wheat pita bread, cucumbers, and red bell peppers, but the amount of hummus we each ate was probably rather fattening.

Now I've got this jar of tahini in my fridge, something I've never bought before and know very little about. I have a few questions:

1. How long does it keep? Will it last seemingly forever like peanut butter, or do I need to use it up quickly before it expires?

2. Does it have any nutritional benefits to make up for it's high fat content, like Omega3's or something?

3. What else can I do with it?

Chrissy

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Comments (4)

Carol Schmertzler Siegel
15 years ago
3. What else can I do with it?

Try Monique's recipe or Jessica's! Both delicious!

Spicy Cold Soba Noodles

1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup chili oil
3 tablespoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
1/2 bunch thinly sliced scallions, white and green
1/2 lb soba noodles
Place soy sauce in a pan over high heat and reduce by half. Turn heat to low, stir in molasses, and warm briefly. Transfer to a serving bowl. Add brown sugar through scallions and whisk to combine.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add noodles; bring back to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they just begin to soften, about three minutes.
Have a large bowl of iced water ready. Drain noodles, plunge in iced water, and drain again (I just rinse with cold water in the colander). Transfer noodles to the serving bowl that has the sauce, toss well and chill.
From City Cuisine by Feniger and Milliken.
posted JessyF

Sesame Noodles (Chien Noir) by Susan Branch
serves 6

1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup soy sauce (or Tamari)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons chili oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 cup green onions
16-ounces thin udon noodles

Look for any unfamiliar ingredients at your health food store. Whisk together tahini and water; whisk in soy sauce, vegetable oil, sugar, vinegar, garlic, chili oil and sesame oil. Finely chop green onions. Cook the noodles according to package; lightly coat them with sauce, tossing gently. Sprinkle green onions and serve. Best hot or at room temperature. Try Chinese egg noodles if you canÂt find udon!
posted Monique
rachelellen
15 years ago
Tahini will keep in the fridge almost indefinitely.

Tahini is a source of calcium, protein, potassium, calcium, phosphorus,iron, vitamins C & E, B vitamins, essential fatty acids & Methionine, an amino acid important for liver detoxification.

You can use tahini in any recipe you would use peanut butter in, for a different-but-sort-of-the-same flavor.

Here is a link that might be useful: A Tahini Site with Recipes
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Seagrass, I could easily see it as a dip for veggies. My DD put it on a veggieburger, too. Deb, good to "see" you again! Now that I know what to expect when I open a can of tahini, I'll be better prepared to deal with it. What do you make with it--hummus? In case Lars is shy (LOL!) about posting his hummus recipe, I'll repost it in this thread. I think the notes in brackets were comments from Lars, too, but taken from a different post. I'm really getting inspired to make it soon! It would be nice to have some available in the freezer. Sue Lars' Hummus (publickman) Here's my hummus recipe, which I make quite often - you can cut it in half for a smaller batch, but it freezes well, if you think it is too much. I like Hummus with a strong garlic flavor, and so you may want to use a bit less than I do, but I think it improves the flavor. Ingredients 1/2 pound (1-1/3 c) dried garbanzo beans, (about 3 to 3-1/2 cups cooked) 1/3 cup lemon juice 3 large cloves of garlic (6 if small) 1/3 cup olive oil (or more, to taste) 1/4 cup toasted sesame seed oil 1/2 cup tahini (toasted, if available) 2 tsp salt 1/8 tsp cayenne 1-1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (or to taste) 1-2 tbsp water, if needed Directions Cook beans according to package instructions. I generally boil them for two minutes in a large pan, with triple height of water. Then I turn off the heat and soak for 1 hour covered and then wash them. Garbanzos may require about 2 hours to cook, after being soaked, but adding 1/2 tsp baking soda to the cooking water will lessen the time. After cooking, I rinse them twice with cold water. [Boil 2 minutes with a lot of water. Let the beans rest covered for 1 hour to soak. Drain and rinse. Put in fresh water to boil. Boil at least 1 hour. For 1-1/2 cups dry beans, add 1/4 tsp baking soda to the fresh water. If beans are not tender enough, add another 1/4 tsp baking soda and boil another 1/2 hour. (Baking soda makes the beans more tender.)] Put the drained beans in a large food processor with the peeled garlic cloves (coarsely chopped) and the rest of the ingredients. Process until smooth. If it is too thick, thin with water, a tablespoon at a time. It is difficult to find tahini made from toasted sesame seeds, and this is why I add the toasted sesame seed oil. Tahini is easy to find at Middle Eastern markets, and toasted sesame oil is less expensive at Japanese markets. Sometimes I add kalamata olives, and if so, I reduce the amount of salt. If you always add cumin, you can try adding that last to decide whether you like it better with or without. It's easy to add it later, and for me it ruins it.
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Agmss, I never was in charge--only helped--and it's been a good while. I found this recipe, though, which seems to have some of the secrets (and looks like a good recipe): http://fourman.dsl.pipex.com/recipes/honey-sesame-halva.html You have to keep the mass warm so that you can stretch it, but this recipe is for a small amount (not much mass) and talks about turning it out on marble, as a confectioner would. Marble has a lot of mass, however, and will stay cool in a cool house. We had marble counters, but for sure we didn't have it right on the marble. I think it was oiled waxed paper taped around a baking board. The counter is never kosher. Additionally, it would have been over 90° F out, and not too much cooler inside. I'm sure that helps. I'm thinking about how you could keep the mass warm, but you also need the outside to firm up, so I'm not sure a hot tray would help. But we just made it and weren't thinking about things like that. I learned about the warmth thing from the 'net. :) Making halvah is a sticky, gooey, disgusting process. I'd say make a four recipes batch on a warm day. Or try a one or two batch considering how to keep it warm and pliable. Also, massage a lot of fresh (new bottle, no rancid smell) sesame oil into your hands and arms before you start, and wear a vinyl apron. Homemade isn't angel wing light, like from the best bakeries (likely an expertise issue), but should be competitive with the packaged, grocery store kind.
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jessyf
15 years ago
Thank you dishes for posting the soba recipes, you beat me to it! They are both summer staples in my house. I do cut back on the chili oil because I'm a heat wus AND Trader Joes doesn't carry it anymore, waaaaaaaah.

I also use it in babaghanoush - Alton Brown has a good recipe, but any will do.

Baba Ghannouj Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

(note from Jessica: I wrap up the garlic cloves in aluminum foil with some olive oil and roast it alongside the eggplant - not too close or it burns)

1 eggplant
2 cloves garlic
2 ounces fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
1/2 bunch parsley, leaves only
Salt and pepper

Pierce some holes in the skin of the eggplant (to avoid explosion) and grill over medium-high heat turning every 7 minutes, until the skin is blackened and the body is nice and soft. Total time for grilling is about 30 minutes. If you do not have a grill you can roast your eggplant in a 375 degree F oven for about 30 minutes.

Remove eggplant from the grill and let cool.

Once the eggplant is cool enough to handle, peel away the skin and discard. Place the eggplant flesh in a colander and drain for 10 minutes. In a food processor, combine garlic, lemon juice, tahini and parsley and pulse to combine. Add the eggplant flesh. Season with salt and pepper and pulse to combine. Adjust the flavor with more Tahini or lemon juice if you prefer. If it's bitter, some sugar or honey will help. Research shows that the white variety of plant is sweeter in flavor.
cseim
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks ya'll! You've been so helpful!

Chrissy

Tell me about tahini

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Carol Schmertzler Siegel

rachelellen

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Tell me about tahini

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Carol Schmertzler Siegel

rachelellen

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